Siding detailed for the wall behind it

Less common than stucco, which dominates Phoenix-area housing, but it is used — as an accent on gables and elevations, on contemporary designs, and on homes where an owner wants a look stucco cannot give. Because it is less common here, it is worth using someone who installs it regularly rather than someone treating it as an occasional job.

Fibre cement is the usual choice for this climate: it is dimensionally stable, does not feed termites and holds a coating well against ultraviolet. Vinyl is less suited to the sustained heat and direct sun on west-facing elevations here. Wood is used where the look justifies the maintenance, and it does need real maintenance in this climate.

Sometimes, but it depends entirely on what is behind the stucco and whether the wall assembly can take the additional fixing and the change in how it manages moisture. This is a question to answer by opening a section up and looking, not by quoting from the kerb.

Every siding system has manufacturer requirements for gaps, fastener placement and joint treatment that exist specifically so the material can move with temperature. Arizona's daily swing makes those requirements matter more here, not less. Siding fixed tight because it looked neater on the day is siding that buckles in its first summer.

Frequently, because many Arizona homes use both — stucco on the main elevations with siding as an accent. Running them as one job means the junction between the two systems is detailed by one team rather than being the seam where two contractors each assume the other handled it.